The Children of Uganda, a dance and music group comprised of eighteen vibrant orphans age six to sixteen, performed for HAI audiences recently. Many of the performers have lost parents to AIDS. They remained energized throughout their hour-plus performance in Whitman Hall Auditorium at Brooklyn College, lifting the spirits of nearly 2,000 audience members with drums, dance and Ugandan lore. The audience was filled with children and their parents from homeless shelters and public schools as well as frail seniors from nursing homes and adults with disabilities.

A day later, Mr. Spencer, HAI’s Founder and Executive Director, took the troupe to Aida which for many was their first exposure to Broadway theater. The youths sat on the edge of their seats, enraptured with the dancing, costumes, lighting and singing.

The troupe also visited HAI’s office/loft space. They traded dance moves with New York City teens, one of whom, Michael Stephens, II, demonstrated break dancing. The Ugandan youths were not shy – they jumped right in, repeating the demonstrated movements and adding some of their own (see Cover photo).

Eventually, a circle formed and pairs of teen dancers, one U.S. and one Ugandan, showed off their moves. The dancers became more synchronized, as contemporary urban dance closely resembles the traditional African steps.